By Hilary White
LOS ANGELES, October 31, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new poll has shown that the US public is continuing to move towards the pro-life position with 44 per cent support for abortion remaining legal. The total pro-abortion position – abortion should “always be legal”– was supported by 31 per cent and 13 per cent responded that abortion should be “legal most of the time”.
The Los Angeles Times poll shows that 50 per cent responded that abortion should be outlawed. This number breaks down to 40 per cent being in favour of legal abortion only in cases of conception due to rape or medical threats to the life of the mother. 10 per cent thought abortion should be illegal in any situation.
The poll was conducted through telephone interviews with 1,209 American adults.
This result is the latest showing a distinct trend in the last ten years towards support for legal rights for the unborn. This trend is seen north of the border as well, with Canadian polls consistently showing support for some legal restrictions on abortion.
LifeSiteNews.com reports today that another Canadian poll has shown that more than one-third (34%) of women support legal protection from conception onward, 21% after three months of pregnancy and 12% say babies should be protected after six months. Overall, 62% of Canadians supported legal protection at some point before birth. Seventy-five per cent of women and 72% of men said they would support a law making it a separate crime to kill or injure a foetus during a violent attack on a pregnant woman.
Despite opposition in politics and the media, the pro-life viewpoint is also growing in Europe and Britain. In the UK lobbyists are pushing to allow abortions to be committed by nurses and midwives since doctors are increasingly unwilling to perform the task.
European abortion campaigners have decried what they call the “swing to the right” on abortion and related issues and the lack of support for unrestricted abortion among Europe’s younger generation.
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
UK Doctors Refusing to Commit Abortion Alarm Royal College
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/apr/07041604.html
March for Life Fever Catching on in France
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06012407.html